As a small barometer on public opinion regarding COVID...

[00Dawg]

The Hoover, AL school district is making plans to reopen. Roughly 1/6 of students requested virtual learning. I'd say that sounds about right for underlying health issues or living with a family member that has them (including elderly caretakers).
So, 5/6 of parents here are good with sending their kids back to school.

 

[J-Dawg]

While on the topic of schools, I was talking to some family and friends in Vicksburg about the local schools plans. I thought the Vicksburg-Warren School's approach was very reasonable. They are giving the parents an option: 1) Send child to school in-person or 2) Keep child at home for distance learning. The parents must make the decision, I presume, at the beginning of each 9 week period and must adhere to it until the next period, i.e. no staying home one week and going to school the next. Now, I'm not sure what the delivery method of the distance learning will be, rather it be live on Zoom or something, or if it will be up to the student to do on their own time.

 

[Xenomorph]

While I get the gist of what you're saying... that's a broad brush with which to paint. Those 5/6th probably don't have a singular mind when sending their kids back to school.

I figure some are totally fine with it, some are cautiously letting them go back, some are doing it because they don't have childcare during normal working hours and don't have any other choice.

 

[00Dawg]

That's a valid point on the childcare.

I'm not sure if I care if the rest are gung-ho or cautious.

 

[MSUDC11]

What percentage of parents can actually afford to stay home with their kids I wonder? Can’t be that big. You also have a few parents who view school as daycare and just want their kids out of the house.

The school situation is a mess and I don’t envy those who have to make the big decisions. My wife is a teacher and she has been all over the place with her feelings, she’s a combination of ready to go back to school but also very concerned about what all of this is going to look like.

 

[My Bru]

Hoover by and large is a group of reasonable minded, civic people.

 

[aTotal360]

Lots of people can't afford to NOT send their kids back to school.

 

[GloryDawg]

I have two kids and I want them in school,. This home crap does not work. This past spring my kids did not learn anything. It was a joke. They missed two months of schooling. If you want a bunch of kids who will not have the knowledge or skills to compete in this world keep them home. They will not learn like they should. Now staying home working on line can work for us. My wife is a stay home mom. I personally don't need them at school but they need to be there with a teacher in front of them teaching. They need the social aspect of school as well.

 

[SyonaraStanz]

I have two kids and I want them in school,. This home crap does not work. This past spring my kids did not learn anything. It was a joke. They missed two months of schooling. If you want a bunch of idiot kids keep them home. They will not learn like they should. Now staying home working on line can work for us. My wife is a stay home mom. I personally don't need them at school but they need to be there with a teacher in front of them teaching. They need the social aspect of school as well.

Completely agree. My daughter just finished up first grade; she needs to be in school because my wife and I, who both work, cannot scratch the surface of her educational needs at the age of 7.

Here's an interesting FB post from a doctor at Baptist, and it provides some hope/comfort for going back to school.

https://www.facebook.com/timcchen

 

[horshack.sixpack]

A virtual classroom would take substantially fewer teachers. You could have one teacher with multiple teacher's aides to help with grading and reach a lot more students than normally fit in a classroom. Infrastructure costs go down substantially, etc.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

A huge percentage of families can afford it, but just not while living their current lifestyle...

 

[My Bru]

I have two kids and I want them in school,. This home crap does not work. This past spring my kids did not learn anything. It was a joke. They missed two months of schooling. If you want a bunch of kids who will not have the knowledge or skills to compete in this world keep them home. They will not learn like they should. Now staying home working on line can work for us. My wife is a stay home mom. I personally don't need them at school but they need to be there with a teacher in front of them teaching. They need the social aspect of school as well.

Just curious, what does your wife do if both your kids are in school? Can she not homeschool?

 

[GloryDawg]

Just curious, what does your wife do if both your kids are in school? Can she not homeschool?

I guess she could homeschool but that's not what she wants to do. She feels they will learn more from a trained teacher. I agree.

 

[RocketDawg]

I guess she could homeschool but that's not what she wants to do. She feels they will learn more from a trained teacher. I agree.

There's also the social aspect of kids interacting with other kids. That's very important. To my thinking, that's one of the big drawbacks to homeschooling - that, and not all that many parents are actually qualified to homeschool their kids (admittedly, my opinion may be because I don't know much about organized homeschooling).

 

[RocketDawg]

But - if you lose teachers because of virtual learning, then try to go back to in-person classes next year, many of the teachers aren't going to come back. They've gone on to something else. There's already a shortage of teachers for a variety of reasons.

 

[oh yeah]

They are using the grade results program. I'm not sure what other plans they have as far as a certain teacher being assigned for distance learning only or if classroom teachers are responsible for distance learning as well. Grade results was not the greatest program to use due to quality issues (misspellings and poor grammar) but the district had already been using it some so the transition went pretty well. They say they will be able to customize it more this school year, but we are electing, for now, to send our kids back to school for as long as that remains an options.

 

[ronpolk]

I can just speak for me personally but it’s not necessarily a matter of being fine sending kids back to school. Rather, really no alternative. My wife and I both work in jobs where we need to be at our office, especially my wife. Our kids have been in daycare since school stopped in March. Distance learning is not really an option for us.

 

[My Bru]

There's also the social aspect of kids interacting with other kids. That's very important. To my thinking, that's one of the big drawbacks to homeschooling - that, and not all that many parents are actually qualified to homeschool their kids (admittedly, my opinion may be because I don't know much about organized homeschooling).

Nah, it's really not, especially in the rigid environment of most public schools, combined with exactly the same age kids.

Parents (assuming decent parents in 2 parent households with no big problems) are actually very qualified to teach their kids, who knows them better than the parents? It's really more about the temperament and will of the parent, rather than the ability. Of course, the reality of broken homes and such makes public schools continue to be necessary.

 

[My Bru]

But - if you lose teachers because of virtual learning, then try to go back to in-person classes next year, many of the teachers aren't going to come back. They've gone on to something else. There's already a shortage of teachers for a variety of reasons.

That won't be how it works. It will free up time for teachers to do a multitude of things, hopefully fueling more innovation.

 

[MaroonBandito]

There's also the social aspect of kids interacting with other kids. That's very important. To my thinking, that's one of the big drawbacks to homeschooling - that, and not all that many parents are actually qualified to homeschool their kids (admittedly, my opinion may be because I don't know much about organized homeschooling).

Admittedly, I was worried about the social aspect when we decided to homeschool our kids a few years ago. I was unaware of the opportunities that presently exist in the homeschool community (In our Area). Our kids are involved with several large groups that meet up (pre Covid-19) for things such as nature studies, parent led classes, field trips, STEM class, etc.

They (my wife and kids) have really found a tight-knit community in which they have all made good friends and flourished. The idea of children sheltered in their room doing worksheets is not an accurate description of homeshooling in 2020. ( I can't speak for the online / self paced programs put in place in response to Covid, I have no first hand knowledge of them.)

One of the many benefits of homeschooling is that we can really dive into subjects that interest the kids. It keeps them very curious, and they crave learning. Judging by your handle, you might be interested to know that after seeing the Saturn 1B rocket at the Ardmore, AL rest area, my son became very interested in space, rockets, etc. We were later able to take him to the Space and Rocket center on a weekday when most kids were in school. At six years old and never meeting a stranger, he would probably enjoy a nice long chat with you about rockets and going to the moon.

Things may change in future, and we might send one or all of them to school at some point, but it is working out great for our current situation.

 

[SirBarksalot]

NC Governor currently giving school reopening plan..seems pretty far fetched to make it happen within these guidelines. Leaving it up to the districts to implement. Masks for everyone K-12 and staff. 6ft distance every where. Eating in classroom if needed. (How the hell is that gonna work?) Split days if needed, return to all remote if needed.

Also, staying in phase 2 which is no surprise.

 

[Herbert Nenninger]

Tim is a nice common sense State alumn.

 

[mstateglfr]

I have two kids and I want them in school,. This home crap does not work. This past spring my kids did not learn anything. It was a joke. They missed two months of schooling. If you want a bunch of kids who will not have the knowledge or skills to compete in this world keep them home. They will not learn like they should. Now staying home working on line can work for us. My wife is a stay home mom. I personally don't need them at school but they need to be there with a teacher in front of them teaching. They need the social aspect of school as well.

I have 2 and want them in school too, mostly for the social aspect.
Virtual schooling in the fall will be nothing like it was in the spring, at least around me. First, they werent allowed to teach anything new for a grade in the spring due to those pesky federal education and disability laws. Thats been addressed and worked out, and curriculum has been created for this year that will run tandem with in class learning.
My oldest is going into 8th and was accepted into a different school for half the day, which she was excited and nervous about. Now that is 100% virtual and her regular school is 50-50. She is dreading the curriculum since it will be more challenging and nobody will be physically in front of her to explain it.
I am dreading it because I will be asked to help and holy hell thats brutal!

I wish one of us was stay at home and could dedicate more time during the day than we do to schoolwork.

Gotta disagree that the only way to build knowledge or skills to compete in this world is if they are in a physical classroom. That is probably accurate for many personalities and life situations. Its also totally incorrect for many personalities and life situations.

 

[mstateglfr]

Nah, it's really not, especially in the rigid environment of most public schools, combined with exactly the same age kids.

Parents (assuming decent parents in 2 parent households with no big problems) are actually very qualified to teach their kids, who knows them better than the parents? It's really more about the temperament and will of the parent, rather than the ability. Of course, the reality of broken homes and such makes public schools continue to be necessary.

Either of us could teach our 4th grader.
Either of us could teach out 8th grader...some things. Hardly everything. Mostly math would be a disaster. We dont have a working understanding of the math she is doing, so we couldnt competently teach it. Much of the rest, sure we could follow a template that provides lesson plans.

But we couldnt develop lesson plans that are as comprehensive as the ones they have. And we would struggle to teach some of the concepts. Furthermore, resources would be less due to us not having things like a band room(and others to play in a band), art room(with **** like a kiln and all the supplies), or any of the tools for robotics, physics, chemistry, biology, etc etc.

So besides all that, the two of us with 3 degrees would give an equal education.

 

[SirBarksalot]

Speak for yourself..I couldn’t do my 4th graders math last year.
Now she’s moving to the middle school, different campus, completely different experience. We still don’t know what our school is going to do.
Not having one on one teacher help is going to be a disaster for us. Not to mention two working parents.

 

[Palmettodog]

I'm good with my child going back and she desperately wants to go back. The experts agree as well.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-new...e-safety-of-schools-amid-pandemic-87569477784

 

[Megiddo]

The Hoover, AL school district is making plans to reopen. Roughly 1/6 of students requested virtual learning. I'd say that sounds about right for underlying health issues or living with a family member that has them (including elderly caretakers).
So, 5/6 of parents here are good with sending their kids back to school.

No, that means 1/6 of parents actively opted in to the option of keeping their kids at home. The other 5/6 are either unaware, do not care, or want to send their kids to school.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Likely, but if they are like my wife, they love teaching even though they are aware of plenty of better paying gigs. Not advocating for online, just pontificating about what if's. In our area, any reduction in costs would probably translate into a sudden "need" for more "specialists" at central office, or perhaps two principals per grade. Admin has gotten ridiculous compared to when I was in school.

 

[mstateglfr]

Speak for yourself..I couldn’t do my 4th graders math last year.
Now she’s moving to the middle school, different campus, completely different experience. We still don’t know what our school is going to do.
Not having one on one teacher help is going to be a disaster for us. Not to mention two working parents.

We have our oldest set to start math tutoring 2x/week via TEAMS/Zoom starting in August so she can get a bit of a base to build off of when online learning starts. Sucks to spend money, but its the best way for us to help her since us literally assisting will result in her further realizing how incompetent her parents are.